Cellular and other wireless communication systems use base stations to provide wireless service to mobile wireless communication devices. Depending on the particular technology and preferences, a base station may be referred to as transceiver station, access node, access point, transceiver node, eNodeB, and eNB, as well as by other terms.
Base stations in cellular communication systems provide communications services to wireless communication devices within geographical cells where each base station exchanges signals with wireless communication devices within an associated cell. The size and shape of each cell is determined by several factors and are at least partially based on design parameters of the base station. In addition to large macro cells that provide services to numerous devices within relatively large geographical areas, some cellular communication systems are increasingly employing smaller cells to increase efficiency, improve coverage, improve the quality of service, and provide additional services. The smaller cells may include a variety of sizes typically referred to as microcells, picocells, and femtocells.
When a mobile wireless communication device moves from one cell to another, conventional systems require the mobile wireless communication device to perform a handover procedure. As the speed of the mobile wireless communication device increases, the handovers occur more frequently and the efficiency of the communication system diminishes.